The man leading the GOP polls and the candidate who is polling so low he wasn’t invited to Saturday’s debate will go head-to-head today in New Hampshire, as Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman plan to participate in a rather unorthodox (although second so far this election cycle) Lincoln-Douglas debate.

Part of the attraction of this debate is the mystery surrounding it — Lincoln and Douglas famously debated for three hours at a time, with each man being given huge chunks of time to postulate on their topic of choice. This will likely not be the format for the Gingrich-Huntsman tussle, but expect speeches to be lengthy and meatier in substance than at a regular debate, where the candidates crawl over one another to get their quips out.

Gingrich is currently polling in second place in New Hampshire, while Huntsman — who has dedicated his campaign to doing well in New Hampshire — is in fourth. Both men are scrambling to topple Mitt Romney, who is currently the favorite in the Granite State. This debate offers Huntsman a chance to share a stage with the GOP front-runner, while it curries Gingrich favor with the throngs of supporters Huntsman has already rallied.